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Elite: Dangerous |OT| Every Man's Sky

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I'm a sad panda now, i would have hoped it would be a part of horizons even if later down the road. Oh well bought anyway :p

Edit : Hmmm just to confirm, is Mars eligible for horizons landing for instance (permit aside) ? The word "Atmospheric" confuses me.
That doesn't mean it won't be part of Horizons... that just means it won't be out in this first batch of content.
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
I'm in the same boat as far as "wait and see" goes, but isn't the expansion $45 after the $15 loyalty discount? If each expansion is $45, that's about four years worth of content for the $195 pass, right?

Where did you see that?

EDIT: Ah yeah, the store doesn't show the discount for me even when logged in but Michael did say that current game owners get a $15 discount, so that changes it a bit.

Elite isn't sold like an MMO but if yearly expansions are being sold for $45 each then in essence it's a game with a monthly fee of $3.75. So looking at it like that the lifetime pass buys you 52 months worth, or 4.3 years of "game time", after which it's free. So if they come out with more than four expansions then the lifetime pass is worth it, if they don't then it's a bad deal.

Man, I wish we just had a long term road map, lol. $260 for one game is not an investment I take lightly, especially without adequate information to assuage my inner frugalness. That could buy me a lot of other games, or even a brand new HOTAS setup. I think I need to see more of what Horizons will include and learn more of whats coming up before I pay that kind of money or decide to support a game with that kind of yearly price.
 
That doesn't mean it won't be part of Horizons... that just means it won't be out in this first batch of content.

A dev (not Braben) has very specifically said, and reiterated when asked for clarification, that atmospheric planets are not a part of Horizons, at all.

:'(

Man, I wish we just had a long term road map, lol.

This right here is the big kicker for me. Insight into their roadmap would go a long way for me, personally.
 
A dev (not Braben) has very specifically said, and reiterated when asked for clarification, that atmospheric planets are not a part of Horizons, at all.
Ah okay. Glad to have it cleared up then! Still not a bad thing, though. That kind of stuff takes a massive amount of dev time haha. Plant life. Animals. Rivers. Clouds. Weather. Etc.
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
A dev (not Braben) has very specifically said, and reiterated when asked for clarification, that atmospheric planets are not a part of Horizons, at all.

Yep, saw that. So Horizons will be one expansion, landing on planets with air will be a second expo at the end of 2016 most likely, walking will be a third in 2017, and we have no idea what comes after that.
 

Burny

Member
Yep, saw that. So Horizons will be one expansion, landing on planets with air will be a second expo at the end of 2016 most likely, walking will be a third in 2017, and we have no idea what comes after that.

Walking around sounds a bit like it should be part of the atmospheric planet landing expansion. What's the benefit of landing on a city spaceport otherwise, if everybody only moves about in the rover?
 

Zalusithix

Member
Walking around sounds a bit like it should be part of the atmospheric planet landing expansion. What's the benefit of landing on a city spaceport otherwise, if everybody only moves about in the rover?

Rovers are too big for a city. However, in keeping with the No Walking (TM) policy, you'll be strapped into a future Segway.
 

GeoGonzo

Member
Yep, saw that. So Horizons will be one expansion, landing on planets with air will be a second expo at the end of 2016 most likely, walking will be a third in 2017, and we have no idea what comes after that.
Actually I'd expect walking to be the showcase for season 3, starting next year: They need a hook to push people towards upgrading. Then again, we could also get to do some walking around after one of the Horizons updates, who knows.

Also guessing:
2015: Barren moons/planets
2016: Gas giants (atmospheric flight model), then later rock/ocean planets (atmospheric flight + scenery)
 

Wreav

Banned
Don't forget, Frontier has been dealing with lush nature environments for a while with the Zoo Tycoon games. I think they even mentioned porting some of that tech into ED for the atmosphere'd planets.
 
I guess I got too used to the idea of DLC pricing. I was expecting this to be in the range of 15 to 20 bucks, tops.
But they are asking near full price for feature promises. As a beta backer, I should be mad. But I know I'll buy it anyways, cause space sims. My only consolation is that valve is getting it's cut in the process.
 
So, long story short, when I got my R9 390 and was setting everything up for Oculus Rift-ovision, I mistakenly deleted my save data trying to close it out (since it wasn't set up correctly at that time. :x). So while now I can play it, smoothly, without issue, I now have the honor of starting all over again! Yay!

Sooooo any tips? Seems like combat makes some actual money now instead of that worthless 800cr bullshit when I first started trying to play.
 

Wreav

Banned
Any of you guys playing on Win10 yet?

Getting a super weird sound bug when I disconnect my X52, every input to the mouse or keyboard creates "chirps", and I have to reboot to get rid of it.
 

Shifty76

Member
Any of you guys playing on Win10 yet?

Getting a super weird sound bug when I disconnect my X52, every input to the mouse or keyboard creates "chirps", and I have to reboot to get rid of it.
Yep. No issues here.

@H3x: Smuggling missions would be your best bet early on.
 
Reddit dump:

Horizons footage coming!!!...next week.

First pic of Cobra Mk IV (from GC show floor):

CLrTCu0WgAATtYY.jpg:large

Mk III for comparison:


Dev update:

As you can all imagine, it’s been a busy week here and I’m sure that you’re all as excited by the announcement for Elite Dangerous: Horizons as we are! We’ve been working hard on this release for some time now so it’s a good feeling to be able finally talk about it. I hope you’ll indulge me a little if I take this week’s dev update to talk more about the teaser trailer and what’s coming with the new Elite Dangerous: Horizons season, and the first expansion of that season, Planetary Landings.

This first expansion kicks off with the ability to land on airless planets and moons. It’s a great technical step forward, and more adds a huge amount of gameplay.

Gameplay extends seamlessly from space to the surface, so that you and your Wing can take a mix and match approach to tackling missions. It also adds new types of missions to engage in. Scanning planets and moons from space is used to detect signals, crashed ships, mineral deposits, outposts and fortresses. Playing alone or with friends on the ground and in the skies above, you can explore, mine and engage hostile forces as you attempt to infiltrate strongholds guarding valuable rewards.

While flying above the surface in Orbital Cruise you can discover points of interest like landed ships and surface installations. There will be star ports on the surface which can be docked at, although you can land anywhere on the surface that takes your fancy long as the terrain is appropriate, all without loading screens or breaks in gameplay.

As you approach the planet surface the effect of gravity kicks in and changes the flight model and so giving you a new set of flying skills to master. And the 1:1 scale planets and moons take our fantastic simulation to a new level, allowing you to swoop though canyons and skim mountain-tops.

For closer interaction you can deploy a Surface Recon Vehicle (SRV) and drive to locations to discover new points of interest. The SRV allows you to get to places where your ship can’t and to interact with new elements for mining, exploration, combat and missions. This really extends the scale of the game downwards to something more human-sized – and you can appreciate how big even a Sidewinder is compared to the SRV, and how truly huge the planets are.

The first SRV is the Scarab that you see at the end of the teaser trailer. The Scarab is designed to cross the roughest terrain and has some very cool features, such as thrusters to help jump gulleys and surmount obstacles. The thrusters are also very useful for pushing you down onto the surface in low gravity environments, to give you grip where you need it.

Of course its a lot of fun just to blast round, explore and just take in the views, but again it’s both a new set of skills to learn and gameplay possibilities to integrate with the rest of Elite Dangerous. SRVs are very small, and difficult to track by flying spacecraft, and enable you to tackle some of the fortifications you’ll find planetside in a different way from what you can do in a spaceship.

There is a lot for even the most experienced pilots to get their teeth into, and of course there’s also the simple joy in being on the surface and watching the sun rise above the horizon (hence the name!). I’m looking forward to seeing the incredible new screenshots people will be able to share.

As with our previous major updates, the Elite Dangerous: Horizons season of content is more than just the headline features. We will also continue to expand and build upon what is already in game. This will include missions, player roles and events in the galaxy, and many other features we have not yet discussed.

Some of these additions will be exclusive to Elite Dangerous: Horizons’ season owners (and if you have the lifetime expansion pass then you of course get it automatically). Others may be more fundamental, or are needed for the whole player-base so will be available to all players.

Throughout the season there will be major updates adding features and content. One example, which we will be talking more about in the near future, is a new loot and crafting system which again we expect to transform the gameplay experience.

For now this is just a quick dip into what’s coming. We’ll reveal more details as we progress.

We have always been very clear about our intentions for paid major gameplay updates like this as we continue to deliver on our roadmap, and so developing the game towards our long term goals. And in 2015 we still have CQC to release on PC and Mac in September alongside the full Xbox release, and a further update at the time of Elite Dangerous: Horizons’ launch that will bring our total of playable ships up to 30!

What we are doing is new in many ways, both technically and in terms of how we are realizing our long term ambitions for Elite Dangerous. As we evolve the game we are trying to give the best value we can to both existing and new players, for the long term benefit of everyone. That’s why we’ve worked hard to keep backwards compatibility for the Elite Dangerous: Horizons season, and are continuing to release updates for ‘season one’ players. Everyone will continue to fly in the same galaxy, and be impacted by, participate in and help to drive the same events.

tl;dr
  • Land on airless planets and moons--adds a "huge amount" of gameplay
  • Re-confirms that transitions from space to surface are seamless
  • New types of missions available: scanning planets/moons to detect signals, crashed ships, mineral deposits, outposts and fortresses
  • Strongholds/fortresses will be guarded by enemies and contain valuable rewards
  • When flying above in "Orbital Cruise" (official name?), you can discover landed ships and surface installations
  • Star ports on surface allow easy docking but you can dock anywhere as long as terrain is appropriate
  • No loading screens or breaks in gameplay when landing on surface
  • Effects of gravity on flight model forces you to develop new set of flying skills
  • Planets/surfaces will have variety of surface features (specifically mentions canyons and mountain tops)
  • Surface Recon Vehicle (SRV) helps you discover new points of interest; gets to where your ship can't
  • SRV used for mining, exploration, combat, and missions
  • Say the SRV brings things down to a more relatable scale; Sidewinder will dwarf it
  • First SRV: Scarab, designed for roughest terrain and has thrusters to help jump across terrain
  • SRVs are very small, difficult to track in spacecraft
  • Can watch sunsets from planets (sounds like landing doesn't affect the system simulation in any way--still intact)
  • Horizons is not just planetary landings: "missions, player roles and events in the galaxy, and many other features we have not yet discussed". Some of these will be exclusive to season pass owners but some may make it to "base" game as well
  • CQC releasing for all platforms in September
  • Next big update for E:D (outside of Horizons) is the Ships update, bringing ship total to 30

dat scarab

Pdb6u6n.gif
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel

It all sounds fantastic, it's the price for it all I'm squeamish about. In game footage next week is awesome though, if I like what they show us then I'll probably take the gamble and buy the lifetime pass. The last game I bought without knowing exactly what I was getting was Master of Orion III, and that very purchase is why it was the LAST game I bought on faith.
 

Wreav

Banned
Visited the ED subreddit for the first time in a while, and hoooo boy, that place has turned into a dump. Incredibly toxic.
 
Visited the ED subreddit for the first time in a while, and hoooo boy, that place has turned into a dump. Incredibly toxic.

Yeah, I just use the ALD subreddit to coordinate PP with other ALD supporters. Don't go to the general subreddit much even though it's subscribed.
 

TheTrain

Member
Reddit dump:

Horizons footage coming!!!...next week.

First pic of Cobra Mk IV (from GC show floor):



Mk III for comparison:



Dev update:



tl;dr
  • Land on airless planets and moons--adds a "huge amount" of gameplay
  • Re-confirms that transitions from space to surface are seamless
  • New types of missions available: scanning planets/moons to detect signals, crashed ships, mineral deposits, outposts and fortresses
  • Strongholds/fortresses will be guarded by enemies and contain valuable rewards
  • When flying above in "Orbital Cruise" (official name?), you can discover landed ships and surface installations
  • Star ports on surface allow easy docking but you can dock anywhere as long as terrain is appropriate
  • No loading screens or breaks in gameplay when landing on surface
  • Effects of gravity on flight model forces you to develop new set of flying skills
  • Planets/surfaces will have variety of surface features (specifically mentions canyons and mountain tops)
  • Surface Recon Vehicle (SRV) helps you discover new points of interest; gets to where your ship can't
  • SRV used for mining, exploration, combat, and missions
  • Say the SRV brings things down to a more relatable scale; Sidewinder will dwarf it
  • First SRV: Scarab, designed for roughest terrain and has thrusters to help jump across terrain
  • SRVs are very small, difficult to track in spacecraft
  • Can watch sunsets from planets (sounds like landing doesn't affect the system simulation in any way--still intact)
  • Horizons is not just planetary landings: "missions, player roles and events in the galaxy, and many other features we have not yet discussed". Some of these will be exclusive to season pass owners but some may make it to "base" game as well
  • CQC releasing for all platforms in September
  • Next big update for E:D (outside of Horizons) is the Ships update, bringing ship total to 30

dat scarab

Pdb6u6n.gif

Awesome, all of this.
Do you know if it will be possible to walk on a planet or we will be "limited" to a cockpit view [SRV]?
I imagine that the first person mode will come with the EVA expansion...but who knows... :eek:
 
Awesome, all of this.
Do you know if it will be possible to walk on a planet or we will be "limited" to a cockpit view [SRV]?
I imagine that the first person mode will come with the EVA expansion...but who knows... :eek:

As others have said, unfortunately you won't be able to. Far more likely that launching the SRV is handled via one of your panels and you just automatically appear in the driver's seat.

Visited the ED subreddit for the first time in a while, and hoooo boy, that place has turned into a dump. Incredibly toxic.

I used to go there more, but now I only do on news days, since they're quick to post any finds. It's generally a cesspool, though.

As long as 1.5 brings me the Imperial Cutter I'll be a happy camper... spacer.

I wasn't too familiar with the Cutter, so I looked it up. Had no idea this is going to be the Imperial version of the Anaconda/Corvette.

 
How are we supposed to explore pirate bases inside a SRV? I think walking around will be close to landing release.

I have no idea how they handle this but I hope someone thinks to ask them. I have to assume that you'll be taking strongholds via attack ships and SRVs, and SRVs will have cargo retrieval mechanisms or something like that.
 

Burny

Member
How are we supposed to explore pirate bases inside a SRV? I think walking around will be close to landing release.

Who said we'd be exploring the bases from the inside? ;) Bases could just mean having a couple of buildings, automated guns and storages sprinkled on the surface.

I'd be very surprised if first person walking is implemented as part of Horizons.
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
I have no idea how they handle this but I hope someone thinks to ask them. I have to assume that you'll be taking strongholds via attack ships and SRVs, and SRVs will have cargo retrieval mechanisms or something like that.

I'm still not sure what a "stronghold" is, nor what it means to "take" one in Elite Dangerous. Sounds more like something you'd do in Dark Souls. :)

I'd be very surprised if first person walking is implemented as part of Horizons.

It's already confirmed to not be in Horizons. Walking is either another season or two away yet.
 
I'm still not sure what a "stronghold" is, nor what it means to "take" one in Elite Dangerous. Sounds more like something you'd do in Dark Souls. :)

Hahaha, right? It sounds like one step away from dungeon crawling. In reality, like Burny said, I assume it will be a few (walled in) buildings, sentry guns, and enemies in SRVs. Maybe some landed enemy ships that can deploy and fire at you from orbit?

I hope there is a variety--would love to see some insanely fortified bases that require a Wing and aerial support.

EDIT: Article on Horizons, some new tidbits (sound like they came from a discussion with Braben?)

Players will be able to land anywhere on airless and uninhabited worlds, rocky or icy, moon sized or planetary sized. Gas giants and inhabited worlds will come in the future. These celestial bodies have already been generated to be as realistic as possible, using real data where available. All solar systems already released in season one were created after real-world principles, taking aggregation of matter in a system, planets colliding with each other, tidal heatings and bodies orbiting, into account. Volcanoes in Elite Dangerous are not random nor are they procedurally generated, but placed for a reason. Just like on earth, volcanoes can bring valuable resources to the surface to be exploited. Or “someone else can mine it for you and you can steal it from them”, David Braben, Founder and CEO of Frontier Developments, described merrily.

The first revealed vehicle is the Scarab, a Surface Recon Vehicle. Buggies will be able to go up to around 100 miles per hour.

Gawd, I just realized that the sense of speed/scale is gonna be nuts. Because we're constantly moving at relatively insane speeds to each other, the sense of speed is hard to attain sometimes in E:D...but when you're on the surface of a planet, seeing those same ships zip around overhead sounds awesome.

In order to maintain a single community, players will be able to form wings across seasons. Elite Dangerous: Horizons content will affect Power play, therefore also affecting players without the second season. After all, everyone is inhabiting the same universe.

This is really interesting to me--Wings can be formed "across seasons". What does that mean, in terms of available content to both sets of players?

Also, haven't seen this screen yet of the Imperial Eagle:

T18ISsk.jpg
 

LeBart

Member
It would be a lot weirder if we couldn't form wings with all players. Like in any MMO, if you have all the expansions, nothing stops you from playing earlier content with players who don't.

Also, that eagle is sexy. I hope 1.5 comes with a bunch of fed ships. Because, you know...
imperials are scum.
 
It would be a lot weirder if we couldn't form wings with all players. Like in any MMO, if you have all the expansions, nothing stops you from playing earlier content with players who don't.

Also, that eagle is sexy. I hope 1.5 comes with a bunch of fed ships. Because, you know...
imperials are scum.

I was mostly wondering how that would work with missions that utilize S2 content, but I guess it wouldn't be too different from how it is now. If you weren't "there" or didn't contribute, you don't share the profit.

And yeah, I'm curious which ships are going to be added. Here are all ships in the game as of 1.4

Adder
Anaconda
Asp Explorer
Cobra
Diamondback Explorer
Diamondback Scout
Eagle
Federal Dropship
Federal Dropship Mk. II (1.4/CQC)
Federal Gunship (1.4/CQC)
Fer-de-Lance
Hauler
Imperial Clipper
Imperial Courier
Imperial Eagle (1.4/CQC)
Orca
Python
Sidewinder
Type-6 Transporter
Type-7 Transporter
Type-9 Heavy
Viper
Vulture

That's 23 ships, and 1.5 is supposed to push it to 30 (some articles/interviews have said "over 30" FWIW).


So, in 1.5, we could get:

Beluga Liner
Dolphin
Federal Corvette
Imperial Cutter
Panther Clipper
Krait (speculated ship)
The Hunter (speculated ship)

That is 30 ships, exactly.

Sounds like the Cobra Mk. IV is a 2.0/Horizons ship, but maybe they're including it?
 

Zalusithix

Member
I wasn't too familiar with the Cutter, so I looked it up. Had no idea this is going to be the Imperial version of the Anaconda/Corvette.
I'm not sure what design feature screams "Imperial" more - the white/blue color combo, the curved hulls, or the widely spaced engine pods that always have hardpoints in them. I'd kind of like a departure from the last feature though. The Interdictor doesn't have engine pod thing going on, and the first two traits are enough to define the signature style.
 

Shifty76

Member
Also, that eagle is sexy. I hope 1.5 comes with a bunch of fed ships. Because, you know...
imperials are scum.

You're getting the Fed shoebox mk II and fed gunship (7 hardpoints) for sure.

As to design...not our fault the fed ship designers have no imagination.

If you want sexy ships then come join the glorious Empire.
 

Zalusithix

Member
As to design...not our fault the fed ship designers have no imagination.

To be fair, I'm starting to doubt the imagination of Imperial ship designers. They certainly have a better sense of style, but they seem to be in the same design rut that the Feds are. It's as if they don't know that it's possible to make ships have the same design language without looking like morphs of other models.

Still, better to have morphs of sexy Imperial ships than be stuck with the ugly ducklings that the Feds have.
 

DrBo42

Member
You're getting the Fed shoebox mk II and fed gunship (7 hardpoints) for sure.

As to design...not our fault the fed ship designers have no imagination.

If you want sexy ships then come join the glorious Empire.

"Check out our sexy ships with terrible hardpoint placement and even worse firepower!"
 

Shifty76

Member
"Check out our sexy ships with terrible hardpoint placement and even worse firepower!"
Heh, no one ever said they were practical!

I'd take the dropship hardpoint grouping any day over any of the Imperial ships.

There's a reason I fly a python and not a clipper for combat, although I have heard that the clipper is without equal when it comes to fighting by a means other than with guns...I'll have to give that a go some time.
 
Sounds like lots of good stuff. I'll just hang with the annual investment. Keep them earning my money rather than paying in advance in the hope that they continue to deliver. Made that mistake with Destiny and I won't repeat it.
 
The topic on Horizons scared me. Someone saying that he was bored of Elite with a Rift in 3h of gameplay, while it's probably true, it makes me sad.

I think 3h of Elite was just my first session in it with the DK2 on my head...

Now concerning the price policy, i don't know. Maybe 50% off the expansion for owners of the base game would have been better received.For the newcomers i think it's good that they have to pay a normal game price.
 

LeBart

Member
The topic on Horizons scared me. Someone saying that he was bored of Elite with a Rift in 3h of gameplay, while it's probably true, it makes me sad.

I think 3h of Elite was just my first session in it with the DK2 on my head...
It makes sense. This game is very much about making your own fun. It's definitely not for everyone, especially if they're not that into space stuff.

What kinda bothers me is when people claim it's barely a game or that it's nothing but a Euro Truck Simulator in space.
Before 1.2 it was severely lacking in basic features, but even then it was still a better value than most $60 games.
 
It makes sense. This game is very much about making your own fun. It's definitely not for everyone, especially if they're not that into space stuff.

What kinda bothers me is when people claim it's barely a game or that it's nothing but a Euro Truck Simulator in space.
Before 1.2 it was severely lacking in basic features, but even then it was still a better value than most $60 games.

Speaking of a game not for everyone, do we know how many copies this game sold ?
 

Zalusithix

Member
It makes sense. This game is very much about making your own fun. It's definitely not for everyone, especially if they're not that into space stuff.

What kinda bothers me is when people claim it's barely a game or that it's nothing but a Euro Truck Simulator in space.
Before 1.2 it was severely lacking in basic features, but even then it was still a better value than most $60 games.

Your first and second paragraphs are somewhat at odds with each-other. If you can't find the current limited gameplay mechanics fun, then it's absolutely a horrible value.

Elite is only starting to evolve into a game that could be enjoyed by your average gamer. It always had immense scale, but the actual gameplay was (and still is) severely compromised. People that were hardcore into the genre could look past the flaws and enjoy the unique aspects that only Elite could provide, but anybody not as enraptured by space and it's vastness, simply saw the game as 1 million ways to do nothing. It has gotten better, and will continue to in the future, but it still has a long way to go. Hopefully within the next couple of years it'll get to the point where most people can enjoy it - without the galaxy wide scale acting as a crutch. After that it'll start to lose its stigma of being an inch deep and mile wide.
 

Samus4145

Member
Was about to pull the trigger on a HOTAS setup, but wanted to check to see if there is a definitive best choice for the game. Right now the x52 Pro is on sale on Amazon.
 

Zalusithix

Member
Was about to pull the trigger on a HOTAS setup, but wanted to check to see if there is a definitive best choice for the game. Right now the x52 Pro is on sale on Amazon.

As strange as this might seem, you might want to hold off until the Star Citizen Gamescom event tomorrow. We should see the result of the Star Citizen and Saitek partnership for a custom HOTAS then. While I doubt it'll be better than any of the current high end offerings, it doesn't make much sense to jump the gun right now instead of waiting another day.
 
Soooo, if you want to use some currency tricks to get E:H for $35 (with loyalty discount)...quote this post to reveal.




Found on reddit, seems to work. My order says "Completed" on my account page.
 

Wreav

Banned
Was about to pull the trigger on a HOTAS setup, but wanted to check to see if there is a definitive best choice for the game. Right now the x52 Pro is on sale on Amazon.

X52 Pro is great, but it's more expensive on Amazon than when I ordered it from Amazon over a year ago. That "sale" isn't much of one.
 
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